The SRA Handbook is no longer in effect. It was replaced by the SRA Standards and Regulations on 25 November 2019.

SRA Handbook

Eligibility criteria and fundamental requirements for licensed bodies

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Rule 14: Eligibility criteria and fundamental requirements for licensed bodies

14.1

To be eligible to be a licensed body, a body must comply with the lawyer manager requirement set out in Rule 14.2 below and be a "licensable body", as defined under section 72 of the LSA, and as set out in Rule 14.3 to 14.6 below.

14.2

At all times at least one manager of a licensed body must be an individual who is:

(a)

a solicitor with a current practising certificate;

(b)

an REL;

(c)

a lawyer of England and Wales and who is authorised by an approved regulator other than the SRA; or

(d)

registered with the BSB under regulation 17 of the European Communities (Lawyer's Practice) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/1119).

14.3

A body ("B") is a licensable body if a non-authorised person:

(a)

is a manager of B, or

(b)

is an interest holder of B.

14.4

A body ("B") is also a licensable body if:

(a)

another body ("A") is a manager of B, or is an interest holder of B, and

(b)

non-authorised persons are entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, at least 10% of the voting rights in A.

14.5

A body may be a licensable body by virtue of both 14.3 and 14.4.

14.6

For the purposes of this rule, a non-authorised person has an indirect interest in a licensable body if the body is a licensable body by virtue of 14.4 and the non-authorised person is entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting rights in A.